Prince William Health District reports first COVID-19 death; Fairfax reports second death

Va. death toll may be as high as 18.

Published March 27, 2020 by Kate Andrews

A man in his 70s died Friday in a hospital from respiratory failure, Prince William Health District officials announced Friday evening. It is the first COVID-19 death recorded in the district, which includes Manassas and Woodbridge

Fairfax County Health District reported its second coronavirus death, a man in his 60s who contracted the virus during travel, officials said in a Friday night news release.

These two deaths bring the Virginia Department of Health’s statewide total to 16, although the website will not reflect the two most recent fatalities until its 9 a.m. Saturday update.

Also, on Friday afternoon, Canterbury Rehabilitation & Healthcare Center, a long-term nursing care facility in western Henrico County, announced that two people with “presumed positive” cases of the virus had died, bringing the total number of fatalities connected with the center to six.

Virginia Department of Health personnel are confirming that the two patients were positive for the virus, but Dr. Danny Avula, the Richmond and Henrico Health District director, said that both male patients were showing symptoms and at least one had a positive result in a test conducted in a private lab. The other man showed symptoms more recently, and Avula did not know if he had received test results yet.

If VDH confirms the two Henrico deaths announced Friday, the total coronavirus death toll in the state would stand at 18.